Homecoming
by lizzington95
Summary: Soul comes home after a trip. My version of what comes next, featuring some fluff and a protective Soul. Two-shot.
1. Chapter 1

Maka looked up from the chalkboard when she heard the familiar crash of Stein's chair as he attempted to roll over the threshold of her classroom. It amazed her that he still did that.

"Can I help you?"  
"You're needed outside, in front of the school. I'll teach your class for the rest of the afternoon." he replied, twisting his screw.  
Maka looked up at her students, weighing the risks of leaving them with the crazy professor. None of them looked too happy about it – the stories of Stein's experiments were legendary.

"Ok, but no dissections. They're working on theory of soul resonance at the moment – not a subject that requires dissection!" She reminded him as she grabbed her coat and left the classroom.  
Stein looked at his watch. He figured five minutes head start would be enough.

Maka strode swiftly through the corridors of Shibusen, wondering why she had to leave her class to Stein. If her father was trying to set her up with another weapon while Soul was out of town _again, _then she might actually give him brain damage this time. She emerged from the door, looked around the courtyard and her heart stopped.

There, by the stairs, was a man with a shock of white hair in a leather jacket that fit his broad shoulders in a way that should really be illegal. Maka blinked hard, hoping it wasn't her mind playing tricks on her again. He must have sensed her presence, because at that moment he turned around and Maka froze. It was _him_. It was _Soul_.

Her poor lonely heart suddenly started beating again, but it was too hard, too fast and its beat was roaring in her ears. Soul took his hands out his pockets and shrugged slightly, which was the equivalent of any other man throwing his arms wide yelling _come give me a hug_. It didn't seem fair that he looked so perfect. The sun was glinting off his white hair and his garnet eyes sparkled.

Maka knew she was romanticising and she knew she should just approach him calmly like the grown woman she was, but her body suddenly wasn't under her control because she was running to him as fast as she could, sprinting with a desperate need, and his damn infuriating smirk widened and then she was leaping and she was airborne and he caught her, his arms locking firmly around her waist as she buried her face in his neck and wrapped her arms around him in return.  
She was laughing with tears in her eyes as they spun in each other's arms. Maka relished the feeling of his strong arms around her, the smell of leather and motorbike oil and _Soul _enveloping her as he crushed her to his chest.

Soul finally set her down carefully, as if she was something precious, and looked deep into her eyes as if they could tell him all the secrets of the universe, keeping her safe in his arms. He closed his eyes and she felt his soul reaching for hers, their foreheads touching. Maka eagerly reciprocated and they plunged into a soul resonance.

The leaves spun around them and their souls swelled as they welcomed each other back after almost three months apart. Soul drew Maka close and she buried her face in his chest as he breathed in the scent of her hair. They were together again and nothing could ever feel better. After some period of time – it could have been a few minutes; it could have been an hour for all they cared – their souls separated.

Maka clung to her weapon, unable to believe he was here, home, almost a whole week early.  
Soul grinned. He loved coming home to her – it was the one time she let her walls down and let him hold her the way he wanted to. He ran a hand down her back and kissed her temple, resting his cheek on top of her head. He looked across the courtyard to see a grinning Stein surrounded by students. He tried not to be too surprised – after all who _wouldn't_ want to see a cool guy like him?

"Maka, we have company" he murmured in her ear, his voice low and rough. He grinned again when he felt a faint shiver run down her spine.

Maka reluctantly withdrew her face from the warmth of his chest and opened her eyes. They widened hugely when she recognised her class staring at her, struck dumb by the idea of their fearsome Miss Maka clinging to a man. She mentally cursed Stein to eternal damnation and flushed furiously as she leapt away from Soul.

"Professor Stein! What are you doing?" she demanded.  
"Showing them an example of a perfect soul resonance" he replied in a flat voice, completely unfazed by Maka's fury as he blew a stream of smoke skywards.  
"Hey Professor, you said you'd cover her classes for the rest of the day right?" Soul called, taking advantage of Maka's speechlessness.

Stein nodded, fiddling with his screw again.  
Soul bent slightly at the knees and swung Maka over his shoulder, ignoring her protests and the blows raining down on his back.  
"I'm taking her then. See you round, Stein." Soul turned and started down the stairs, extremely grateful she didn't seem to have a book on her. He liked his skull the way it was.


	2. Chapter 2

Soul had insisted on carrying her up the stairs to their apartment as well. He unlocked the door and set her down in their living room. Blair was out somewhere, probably seducing some poor schmuck into providing her with fish. Maka sighed as she realised what was coming next. It had to be hands down _the_ most irritating thing Soul had ever come up with.

"We're alone. Strip." He instructed.  
"Soul" she whined "Why do you make me do this?"  
"Because if I don't then you just hide everything from me!" Soul retorted with a scowl.  
"I only hide it because if I let you see you insist on massacring whoever I was working with!"  
"If some other weapon let you get hurt, then they deserve it! A weapons' duty is to always protect their meister!" He growled, his voice low and dangerous and just a little enticing. "Now strip before I do it for you."

Maka looked into his scowl, saw the determination in his red eyes and decided he probably was serious about stripping her. She weighed the risks for a moment before deciding it was marginally less embarrassing and certainly less risky if she undressed herself. Maka reluctantly unbuttoned her coat and stripped down to her underwear. She hated doing this. It always made her feel like such a flat-chested child, and his steady gaze never failed to make her blush.

Soul concentrated on his self control as Maka quickly and efficiently stripped for him; or rather, for his inspection of her. She really was oblivious to how attractive she'd gotten over the past few years – hell, how attractive she'd always been. But those kinds of thoughts would not help his self control, so he focused instead on searching her for any new scars. He froze when he spotted one on her upper thigh.

Maka shivered as his warm fingers caressed the new scar on her right thigh. She'd hoped that Soul would somehow miss it and she could go on without him tearing some poor weapon to shreds.

"How did you get this?" he asked, concern seeping into his voice.  
"It was about a month ago. I was sent after a witch who was, um, well, she was built like Blair. The weapon I was working with was a bit slow to transform and I was late with the block."  
Maka winced as his fingers dug into her flesh. He was mad. A mad Soul was not a nice Soul to be around.

"Who was the weapon?" he ground out between clenched teeth.  
"Soul-"  
"Who?"  
"Soul, listen-"  
"Who was the weapon Maka?! I'm not going to let some idiot get away with letting _my_ meister get hurt because he was too busy ogling a goddamn witch!"  
"Stop it Soul! Every mission is a risk! It's hardly the first time I've gotten hurt!"  
"Being late with a block because your weapon was too busy being a horny bastard isn't the usual risk! Now you tell me who let you get hurt before I go through your mission logs."  
"You can't go through my mission logs."  
"Your crazy old man could." Soul threatened, hating that he had to resort to this to make her tell him. He was her weapon – why didn't she understand that? "Damnit Maka, why are you fighting me on this?"  
"It was James Partridge." Maka muttered, looking away and blushing.

Soul understood why she hadn't wanted him to know. Partridge had tried to come on to Maka after a few too many drinks at the last Shibusen anniversary party. Soul hadn't appreciated having to pull a drunken lout off his meister, to say the least.

"Why were you working with Partridge?" He asked quietly, hiding his anger away for now.  
"We were compatible" she said with a shrug "and . . . apparently he'd requested me."  
"It's ok. Thanks for telling me" Soul said, hugging her again "But next time don't make me work so hard to get the story ok?"  
"Ok" Maka said quietly, looping her arms around his back, so happy he hadn't gone storming out of the apartment in a blind rage. "Can I get dressed yet?"  
"Will you chop me if I say no?" he asked with a smile in his voice.

He got his answer with typical speed. He lay twitching on the floor as Maka stormed off to her room. _It was worth it though_, he thought, _she was just so damn cute when she blushed. _Not to mention that he could freely ogle her behind through the haze of pain as she stalked off.

The next day at Shibusen, James Partridge got a very unpleasant surprise.

He was just turning away from his locker when he was slammed violently into the wall. He shivered in fear as the demonic face of Maka's famously protective weapon partner was shoved into his own. Soul's red eyes were aflame with fury and his sharp teeth were bared in a snarl as he bunched his hands in Partridge's jacket and slammed him into the wall again.

"Guess what Partridge? I got home yesterday and Maka tells me she's got a new scar cus you were too busy ogling a goddamn _witch _to do your goddamn_ job_!" Soul hissed in his ear.  
"S-Soul! That's not what-"  
"Are you accusing my partner of lying?"  
"No! No-"  
"Do you even know what the duty of weapon_ is_, you bastard?"  
Partridge's mouth flopped open like a goldfish, now too terrified to speak.  
"_Always protect your meister_." Soul spat in his face. "If I ever find out you caused my Maka another new scar, then I _will _skin you. Understood?"  
"Y-Y-Yes." Partridge stuttered.

Soul dropped his jacket and Partridge collapsed on the floor in a terrified heap.  
Soul strolled off coolly. It was good to be back.


End file.
